THE PIG INDUSTRY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 22, 22 December 1932, Page 5

THE PIG INDUSTRY.

BREEDERS' AND FATTENERS' COLUMN. In common with every other branch of tho farm industry, market prices for pork and bacon products have touched a very low level and if it were not for tho hopo that spring's eternal it is quite likoly that there would have been a substantial decrcaso in tho number of pigs slaughtered during tho present season. As a matter of fact, statistics show that during tho past few years this branch of the industry has been somewhat neglected, particularly when considered in' conjunction with tho dairy industry, which has shown considerable expansion. However, it is apparent that dairy farmers have awakened to the need for using every channel of revenue.

In tho Manawatu district, at least, it may be said that a keener sense of the importance of tho pig as an essential part of the dairy farm operations is manifested. Nevertheless, far greater use could and should bo mado of this valuablo asset.

During tho past year there have been inaugurated several progressive movements which should prove distinctly helpful in promoting the best interests of tho pig industry. Hitherto there has not been apparent any organised effort either in tho direction of improving tho standard typo of porkers and baconers, or in improving tho marketing conditions. In both of these directions tho initial steps havo been taken to foster the breeding and rearing of pigs which will conform more closely to trade requirements, and to obtain a more systematic method of marketing whereby the farmer himself has some control.

While it is not to bo expected that complete reform and rapid development can bo icalised at short notice, it is encouraging to iind that steady progress is being made. Tho work that is being done by the recently formed Pig Development and Recording Club will doubtless show more tangible results as time goes on. Particularly in the direction of discovering prolific quick maturing strains of parent stock tlicro should also bo some very reliable information gathered from the data.

Recognising tho great advantage to them of successfully handling their own produce, Manawatu farmers havo prevailed upon the Co-operative Pig Marketing Association to extend its operations to this locality. Starting under very difficult condition and at a most critical time when farmers were losing hope in all farming ventures, tho co-operative movement has mado very substantial progress. With tho limited time at their disposal the promoters of this scheme have thrown themselves enthusiastically into the work of organisation throughout the territory. A great many meetings have been addressed and good work has bden done by individual canvass, with tho result that tho cooperative marketing of pigs may bo claimed to bo firmly established. Substantial guarantees have been made for supplies throughout the year, which represent a arge number of porkers and baconers. Naturally, during a period when prices are at an extremely low ebb farmers would prefer to secure full payment for their pigs as they are delivered to the works, but under strictly co-operative marketing 100 per cent, of value cannot be paid on delivery, and it speaks volumes for those who are desirous of seeing cooperation firmly established that they arc freely accepting a 75 per cent, advance. Interviewed recently in this connection, a director of the Marketing Association expressed himself as being highly satisfied with tho progress mado. Many of tho troubles incidental to the launching of a scheme such as this have been overcome and it is confidently expected that a very substantial percentage of the total pigs slaughtered in tho Dominion will go through co-operative channels. Already some 16,000 carcases have been satisfactorily disposed c\f, and as tho great bulk of the pigs marketed do not come forward until after tho New Year tho expectations are that a largo number will be available for export after the local trade requirements have been supplied. STOCK MARKET. FEILDING SALE. Business in all sections of the sale at Feilding yesterday was very dull, the greater portion of the small yarding being passed. In tho, fat sheep pens ewes were practic ally unsaleable, only spring lambs and 2-tlis finding buyers. No wethers came forward, while tho store sheep entry was confined to a couple of pens of 2-th ewes which failed to reach the reserve.

Fat cattlo were dull of sale, butchers’ requirements evidently having been supplied earlier, and for store cattle, a comparatively good entry of well-finished station stock, the inquiry was very limited. Dairy cattlo were dull of sale at. no change in rates. Quotations are ns under: Fat Sheep.—Spring lambs 10s ,7d, 10s 10d, 11s 3d, 11s 7d to 12s; 2ths, 10s, 11s Id, 11s 3d. to 11s 8d; ewes, 4s 3d to 5s lid. Fat Cattle. —Cows £2 3s 6d, £2 15s to £3; heifers, £3 12s 6d, £3 15s; bullocks, £3 7s; steers, £l 9s to £2 7s 6d. Storo Cattle. —S.H. ylg. heifers, £1: 2yr. P.A. steers, £2 8s; heifers r.w.b., £1 15s; yearling Jersoy heifers, £2 15s. Dairy Stock.—Cows in milk, £2 Is to £4 15s; springing cows, £1 15s, £3 ss, £3 12s 6d, £5 to £7 10s; springing heifers, £4 7s. ADDINGTON SALE. SHEEP AND LAMBS IN DEMAND. Per Press Association. CHRISTCHURCH, Dec. 21. The entries wore larger in most sections at the Addington market to-day on account of the suspension of the saio next week. It was a good fat sheep and lamb salo, but beef was again easier. Store Sheep.—A small entry, the bulk being aged and hard-conditioned ewes. The market showed no change in values. Ordinary- ewes and lambs mado 5s Id to 6s 7d; good two-tooth crossbred ewes to 14s lOd; medium Romney wethers, 9s 6d to 10s: medium halfbrod, 8s 5d to 10s; backward halfbred, 5s 3d. Fat Lambs. —4050 woro penned, compared with 2400 last week. There was a good demdbd from butchers, who took the bulk. Values were better than those of the peceding week by 9d to Is a hoad. A few tops made to 16s, but the bulk of tho good lambs 13s to 14s 6d. Fat Sheop.—A normal sized entry and a free salo for both ewes and wethers, especially lighter wethers selling better. Exporters secured a fair proportion of the lighter wethers. Extra prime, heavy wethers old to 15s lOd: prime heavy, 13s to 14s 6d; prime medium weight, lls to 12s 9d; ordinary and light, 9s to 10s 6d; extra prime heavy ewes, to 13s; prime heavy, 10s 6d to 12s; . medium weight prime, 8s 6d to 10s 3d; light and ordinary, 5s to Bs.

Fat Cattle. —A big entry of 365 head, including North Island lines. Tho oversupply caused a weakening in the market and values were down by 10s a head. Best ox beef mado 19s to 21s per 1001 b; good, 17s to 18s 6d; heavy, 15s'to 16s 6d ; secondary, 11s to 14s; and rough down to Bs. Extra prime heavy steers sold to £lO 2s 6d; prime heavy, £6 5s to £8 15s; prime medium weight, £5 10s to £7; ordinary quality, £3 10s to £5; light to £3 10s; extra prime heifers to £7 7s 6d ; prime, £4 to £6; ordinary, £2 10s to £4 15s; extra prime cows to £6 17s 6d ; prime, £3 10s to £5: ordinary, £2 5s to £3 ss; rough, 30s to £2. There was a small entry of fat pigs, with very few baconers forward. The market was a littlo firmer. Choppers made 30s to £2 11s 6d; baconers, 21s 6d to £2 Is 6d ; average prico a lb, 3d; porkers, 21s 6d to 33s 6d; average price a lb, 4d to 4id. JOHNSONVILLE SALE. WELLINGTON, Dec. 22. Prices wero steady at the Johnsonvillo sale yesterday. This being tho Christmas sale, Wright, Stephenson atid Co., Ltd., and Abraham and Williams, Ltd., offered a very large yarding of stock, comprising mostly prime quality lambs, for which competition was keen at late rates. Wethers and ewes met with a fair demand, while all classes of beef met with a ready sale at prices on a par with last week’s rates. Yesterday's prices ruled as follow: Cattle.—Heavy bullocks, £6 10s, £6 9s, £6 7s 6d, £6 3s to £6; bullocks, £5 13s,

£5 10s, £5 Bs, £5 7s 6d to £5; cows and heifers, £4, £3 11s, £3 10s, £3 7s 6d to £3; runners, £2 19s, £2 16s, £2 14s, £2 12s, £2 13s, £2 10s, to £2 5); vealors, £1 16s, £1 13s bd, £1 10s to 15s.

Sheep.—Heavy wethers. 12s, 11s 9d, 11s 6d, 11s to 10s 6d; wethers, 10s, 9s 6d; hoggets, 11s, 10s 9d, 10s 6d ::o 10s; heavy owes, 8s 3d, Bs, 7s 9d, 7s (td; ewes, 7s, 6s 9d, 6s 6d, to 5s 2d; hca\y lambs, 12s 6d, 12s, 11s 6d, 11s 3d, 11s, 10s 6d; lambs, 9s 6d, 9s sd, 9s 3d, 9s, 8s lOd, 8s 6d, 8s 3d to 7s 6d; light lambii, 7s, 6s 6d. LATE RATES AT LEVIN SALE. LEVIN, Dec. 22. At the Levin sale on Tuesday Abralmm and Williams, Ltd., offered f ood yardings in all sections. Competition was good at late rates. Fat sheep: Medium lambs, 10s; prime lambs, 12s; fat ewes, fis Id, 5s 4d; fat wethers, 11s; fat b.f. two-tooths, 9s lOd; good b.f. store lambs, 6s. Fnt cows: Medium P.A. and S.H., £2 12s 6d, £2 15s; light dairy sorts, 30s, 32s 6d, 355; forward cows, 18s, 225, 255; store cows, 12s, 14s, 16s; pottor bulls, £2, £2 10i, £3; dairy cows £2 ss, £3. Pigs: Wearers, Bs, 13s, 13s od; stores, 16s 6d 17s 6d 18s, 20s 6d; light porkers, 225, 255, 265; medium do., 275, 28s, 28s 6d; heavy, 295, 29s 6d, 30s; baconers, 31s, 33s 6d, 345, 355. GOOD YARDING AT WESTFIELD. Per Press Associat: on. AUCKLAND. Dec. 21. Tho last fat stock sale of :lio year was held at Westfield to-day, there being a good yarding of all classes. Tho yarding of beef again exceeded 800 head. There was a steady demand at late rates. Extra choice ox sold to 17s per 1001 b; choice and primo ox, 14s 6d to 16s; secondary and plain, 12s to 14s; prime young cow and heifer. 14s to 16s; ordinary cow beef, 8s to 13s. Extra heavy primo steers ranged in price from £6 to £6 15s; heavy primo, £5 5s to £5 17s 6d; lighter primo, £4 to £5 2s 6d; light prime, £3 10s to £3 17s 6d; small and unfinished steers, £2 10s to £3 7s 6d; extra heavy prime young cows and heifers, £4 to £4 15s; heavy primo cows and heifers, £3 to £3 17s 6d; lighter prime, £2 5s to £2 17s 6d; other killablc cows, £1 to £2 2s 6d.

A small yarding of sheep met a ready salo at higher rates. Prime hoggets made 7s 9d to 12s 3d; primo wethers, 10s 6d to 15s 6d; prime ewes, 5s to 11s 9d. Firmer values ruled for lambs, which were in large supply. Heavy' primo lambs mado 12s 6d to 14s 9d; medium prime, 11s to 12s 3d; light prime, 9s to 10s 9d. Pigs were in full supply, baconers easing in value. Baconers mado 28s to 445; porkers, 16s to 30s; chopper i. 20s to 495. Largo numbers of calves ;old at lower rates. Runners made 20s tc 70s; vealers, 20s to 475; rough calves, is to 11s. FAT LAMBS VERY FIRM AT BURNSIDE. Per Press Associat. on. DUNEDIN, Dec. 21. There was an improvement in the fat cattle market at Burnside to-day, when primo quality beef sold at an advance of 15s per head. On the other hand, there was little demand for cows, and prices for this class showed a reduction of about 15s a head. There was an advance in tho prices obtained for lambs, starting at 2s a head and continuing at that figure until the last few saleß, when values advanced another 2s a head. Prime wethers showed an advance of 2s 6c! and ewes Is a head on last sale.

For a double yarding of fat cattle, tho number forward, 184 head, was disappointing. With the exception of one outside truck, all tho cattle came from the Taiori district. The entry included a very small number of good quality bullocks, and several pens of inferior bullocks and aged cows mado up tho balance of the yarding. Best bullocks sold from £9 to £lO 7s 6d, the icst averaging from £7 10s to £B. Heavy cows sold from £4 10s to £5. Best quality ox beef was worth 21s, and plain fOs per 1001 b. Cows were worth about 15s per 1001 b. One lino of station bullccks in the store cattle pens averaged 13 10s to £4 per head. Old cows sold to £4 7s 6d. Other odd pens realised lat.j rates. It was anticipated that fully 4000 sheep would ho sent in for the double market, but only or.e quarter of that number was penned. The yarding included three trucks of extra prime quality sheep, a fow pens of extra heavy ewes, and a fair number of agod ewes of inferior quality-. Primo wethers advanced- 2s 6cl per head all round. Primo wether mutton was worth 2d and ewes from l£d to ljd per lb. About 1200 lambs were forward. The entry included several pens of extra prime heavy lambs, and the bulk was of good quality, consisting principally of light weights. Extra prime heavy lambs sold from 15s to 16s 6d. but the majority realised from 13s to 15s. A few pens of light and unfinished sorts brought from 11s 6d to 12s 6d. Extre. heavy lambs wore worth 4i<l, and light weights about 5d ])or lb. There was no change in the prices obtaincel for pigs, which were worth 4£d per lb, but porkers showed a lise of 5s and 7s 6d, arid were worth s|d per lb. HAWKE’S BAY SALE. HASTINGS, Dec. 22. At Stortforel Lodge yesterday, 150 head of fat cattlo were penned. With tho exception of three pens tho entry was made up of lightweight bullocks, which met keen competition. Ox beef showed an advance of 10s per head over last week’s prices. A line of P.A. bullocks made £5 4s; three pens of lightweight young steers, to £4; a draft of Hereford-P.A. bullocks, £5 6s: and three pens of P.A. heavyweight bullocks topped the market at £5 16s. The sale for ox beef was the most animated sale for some months. Fat cattle: Bullocks, prime heavy, £5 8s to ,-£5 16s; prime light, £4 15s to £5 7s 6d; unfinished, £3 7s 6d to £4: heifers, prime heavy, £3 18s; prime light, £3 to £3 6s; cows, medium prime, £2 12s to £2 18s; light prime, £2 5s to £2 7s 6d. In the fat sheep section, 1250 hoad were penned, a larger proportion than usual being lambs. Fat ewes and wethers were not in demand. Owing to space not being available at the works, fat sheep did not meet with competition from export buyers, bu* there was keen bidding from butchers for fat lambs, prices in most cases being above export parity. Heavy prime lambs, 12s to 12s 6d; medium, 10s 7d to 11s 8d; light, 9s 9d to 10s Id; 2-th ewes, 10s.

DAIRY PRODUCE. Tho New Zealand Producers’ Co-opora-tivo Marketing Association’s weekly cabled market report from London, dated December 20, is as follows: Butter market quiet. New Zealand finest grado, 84s to 85s; first grado, 83s to 84s; Danish, 1245. Cheese market steady. New Zealand white, 525; coloured, 565; Canadian white and coloured, 60s to 68s. Joseph Nathan and Co., Ltd., have received the following cabled advice, dated December 20 from London:—New Zealand butter easier; resellers offering at 84s per cwt. New Zealand cheese; White, 53s per cwt.; coloured, cleared, 54s to 555. FARMING NEWS. Taking the abnormal growth of grass in some country districts as an indication a Canterbury farmer made the statement thnt the country could look forward to a bad winter. During a long period as a farmer, he said he had noticed repeatedly that tho present conditions were indicative of a bad winter following. Drought conditions continue in tho Cambridge district and the position generally is a serious one. Already the pastures are taking on that brown tinge associated with the month of February. In the country districts streams aro down to a level seldom known before, and thoso depending upon tank supplies are in a precarious position. Tho latest official estimates give New South Wales a record wheat harvest this year of nearly 70,000,000 bushels, and the Australian yiold is likely to be in the vicinity of 212,000,000 bushels. Although prices will bo lower this year than last, the total return will be considerably larger than last year. Australia’s cheque is likely to be £22,000,000, and of that some £7,000,000 will fall to New South Wales.